SR4: To Live and Die in the Mile-High City

Run 02: Best Served Cold

One big shell game

22

OCT/12

The Dirt
An up-and-coming Ares executive was kidnapped from a corporate retreat, the owner of which (Jeron Falcone) was asked to pay a sizeable ransom. The runners were tasked with finding and returning the target alive, and, if possible, to identify the person responsible.

The Catch
Hidden agendas, misunderstandings, and subterfuge threatened to compromise the mission.

The Run
Our gallant mercs (minus Weasel) are summoned to a ranch to investigate the site of a kidnapping. They are joined by a mysterious rigger known as “No Nose,” a creepy masked human who spends most of his time in his van. They search the room and find a number of potential leads. Aleph-Null attempts to hack into Belenkiy’s commlink, to no avail, and Lyesmith interrogates the clueless ork receptionist, Jeff (which nearly ends with slipping him an unidentified drug). After a great deal of cogitating, their contacts point them to the Black Cats, a group of Sioux runners who were likely responsible for the abduction.

Lyesmith’s Johnson friend, Max Powers, called in a favor, so the social butterfly flew downtown to assist in a con job; the rest of the team went to an Amerindian dive bar called the Hardpan. Resident Sioux troll Egg remembered his heritage and handled the negotiations, getting a contact number for the Black Cats. A meet was arranged at the South Platte Park, and the team decided to investigate possible places the Sioux team might be hiding. Meanwhile, Lyesmith’s excursion hit some rockiness, with an elderly Japanese businessman, Mr. Ishikawa, firing at him point blank when the charade started to unravel. The grifters escaped, although the face suffered a severe wound.

At a local hideout, the team followed a pair of Sioux women to the meet, but hijacked their car to force an encounter. A convenient appearance by Weasel reveals that two strong spirits were guarding the women. Tense talks followed, and both groups agreed to reconvene at the motel to discuss the matter further. Following some discussions and covert peeping, it comes out that the Cats were hired by Ares. However, information bought from a shady online source known as the Void suggests that Falcone is setting the team up.

The Rest

The target was successfully retrieved and returned to his domicile in the Ares arcology; the Cats arranged for an alternate delivery, so the team met no resistance.

Falcone is glad the matter was resolved, but is not pleased about being accosted in his office. Do not expect any further work from him.

The Black Cats are glad things didn’t get violent. They are open to future work.